There are no random words

It had been awhile since we attended Church. Crisis, illness, and travel kept us away. As we drove over the river and through the woods, Jess rocked out to Swingtown. When the song was over, I turned the radio down and she then began to tap on what seemed to be random words. To anyone listening, it would appear there was no method to her madness.

Wrong.

This is what Jess does in her spare time. She taps words she hasn’t used in awhile so she can refresh her motor planning. Jess also does this to warm up before she starts a conversation.

It’s hard to explain this to people when they are seeing an AAC device for the first time. They don’t realize how long it takes to put sentences together. They also expect longer sentences. Jess, can and will, but only when she is not pressured and is given enough time to form her thoughts.

Later, I don’t remember what Jess did to prompt me to tell her “she’s the smartest” (she said something pertinent and clever) but she told me I was “right”. There are no random words…she knows exactly what she wants to say.